The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 eBook

O king, thus slain, Karna, with tearful face, recollected
the word of Vidura. Mounting upon another car
that was duly equipped, Karna, endued with great prowess,
quickly proceeded against the son of Pandu in battle.
Piercing each other with whetted arrows, equipped with
wings of gold, the two warriors looked resplendent
like two masses of clouds penetrated by the rays of
the sun. Then the son of Pandu, excited with
rage, cut off the armour of Suta’s son with six
and thirty broad-headed arrows of great sharpness
and fierce energy. The mighty-armed Suta’s
son also, O bull of Bharata’s race, pierced the
son of Kunti with fifty straight arrows. The
two warriors then, smeared with red sandal-paste with
many a wound caused by each other’s arrows, and
covered also with gore, looked resplendent like the
risen sun and the moon. Their coats of mail cut
off by means of arrows, and their bodies covered with
blood, Karna and Bhima then looked like a couple of
snakes just freed from their sloughs. Indeed,
those two tigers among men mangled each other with
their arrows, like two tigers mangling each other with
their teeth. The two heroes incessantly showered
their shafts, like two masses of clouds pouring torrents
of rain. Those two chastisers of foes tore each
other’s body with their arrows, like two elephants
tearing each other with the points of their tusks.
Roaring at each other and showering their arrows upon
each other, causing their cars to trace beautiful
circles. They resembled a couple of mighty bulls
roaring at each other in the presence of a cow in
her season. Indeed, those two lions among men
then looked like a couple of mighty lions endued with
eyes red in wrath, these two warriors endued with
great energy fought on like Sakra and Virochana’s
son (Prahlada). Then, O king, the mighty-armed
Bhima, as he stretched his bow with his two hands,
looked like a cloud charged with lightning. Then
mighty Bhima-cloud, having the twang of the bow for
its thunder and incessant showers of arrows for its
rainy downpour, covered, O king, the Karna-mountain.
And once more Pandu’s son, Bhima of terrible
prowess, O Bharata, shrouded Karna with a thousand
shafts shot from his bow. And as he shrouded
Karna with his winged shafts, equipped with Kanka
feathers, thy sons witnessed his extra ordinary prowess.
Gladdening Partha himself and the illustrious Kesava,
Satyaki and the two protectors of (two) wheels (of
Arjuna’s car), Bhima fought even thus with Karna.
Beholding the perseverance of Bhima who knew his own
self, thy sons, O monarch, all became cheerless.’”